In this message we shall consider Christ’s person in ascension.
In ascension Christ is the Son of Man. This means that the Christ who is in the heavens still has His humanity; He still possesses a human nature.
When the Lord Jesus was being judged by the Sanhedrin, the high priest said to Him, “I adjure you by the living God that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matt. 26:63). The Lord replied, “You said it! Moreover, I say to you, Henceforth you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (v. 64). The high priest asked the Lord if He was the Son of God, but He answered by referring to Himself as the Son of Man. The Lord was the Son of Man on earth before His crucifixion, and He is still the Son of Man in the heavens at the right hand of God after His resurrection and ascension. Furthermore, even at His coming back on the clouds He will be the Son of Man. The Lord seemed to be saying to the high priests, “You ask Me whether or not I am the Son of God. I tell you that I am the Son of Man. Even after you have crucified Me and I have been resurrected from the dead, I shall be in the third heaven as a man.” In ascension Christ continues to be the Son of Man.
Stephen saw the ascended Christ as the Son of Man: “Being full of the Holy Spirit, looking intently into heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56). This is further proof that in ascension Christ is still the Son of Man.
Revelation 1:13 indicates that the ascended Christ is the Son of Man: “In the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man.” Here Christ is unveiled as the Son of Man. He is both divine and human. As the High Priest He cares for the churches in His humanity.
Some do not believe that Christ today is still the Son of Man. They claim that Christ became a man by incarnation but that in His resurrection He put off His humanity. They think that Christ today is merely the Son of God, that He is no longer the Son of Man. However, it is erroneous to teach that Christ in ascension is no longer the Son of Man. In ascension Christ is still both the Son of God with divinity and the Son of Man with humanity. This is clearly revealed in the Word of God.
In ascension Christ is the One who is at the right hand of God. Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus who died, but rather who was raised, who is even at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Christ died for us, He was resurrected, and He is now in the heavens at the right hand of God interceding for us. In ascension Christ is at the right hand of God. “The right hand of God” signifies preeminence, the first place of honor. The right hand of God is the first and highest place in the universe, and God has put the ascended Christ there. God has given the preeminence and the highest honor in the entire universe to Christ. Our Christ today is in the highest heaven, holding the highest position at God’s right hand.
In ascension Christ is the One who has been crowned with glory and honor. Hebrews 2:9 says, “We see Jesus, who was made a little inferior to the angels because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor.” Here glory and honor are considered a crown. Glory is the splendor related to Jesus’ person; honor is the preciousness related to Jesus’ worth (1 Pet. 2:7). As the ascended One crowned with glory and honor, Christ is in a state of glory and has a rank of honor.
It is always an honor for a person to have a high rank. The ascended Christ is glorious in state and honorable in rank. He has received such glory and has entered into such an honor. This glory and honor are the crown with which He has been crowned.
On earth in His suffering of death, Christ was crowned with thorns. But in heaven on the throne in His enjoyment of exaltation, He is crowned with glory and honor. Let us look away from everything to the ascended Christ who is crowned with glory and honor.